After enduring multiple delays, The Batman Part II is finally going to begin production later this year, ahead of its October 2027 release date. Before director Matt Reeves starts rolling the cameras, he’s filling out the sequel’s cast. Unsurprisingly, given the pedigree of his Batman franchise, the filmmaker hasn’t had any trouble recruiting big names. After Scarlett Johansson joined The Batman Part II in a mystery role, her former Marvel co-star Sebastian Stan became the latest addition to the ensemble. His role is being kept under wraps as well, though fans have no shortage of theories. And one of the more prevalent ones may have just been confirmed.
In the immediate aftermath of Stan’s casting, people speculated that he could be portraying Harvey Dent. There appears to be some smoke there. For one, Stan’s stylist has shared images of artwork depicting Stan as Two-Face on social media. Additionally, industry insider Jeff Sneider posted on X that he had heard Reeves cast Harvey Dent for The Batman 2. Seemingly before Sneider had an opportunity to ask around for the actor’s name, word of Stan’s casting hit the trades. Check out the posts in the space below:
Is This Proof Sebastian Stan Is Playing Harvey Dent?
It’s important to keep in mind that neither of these posts act as official confirmation of Stan playing Dent. However, that would be a logical conclusion for fans to reach after seeing them. Both of the posts seemingly add fuel to the fire and will on strengthen the belief that Stan will be the next actor to bring Gotham’s charismatic district attorney to life on the big screen. Harvey Dent would be a role befitting of Stan’s talents as an actor, as he’d be able to lean into his charming screen presence to play Dent prior to the character’s villainous turn. Stan’s also demonstrated an ability to play chilling antagonists, so he’d do a great job with Two-Face as well.
In the past, Reeves has said that he wants to do something that’s “never been done” with The Batman Part II, a statement that could potentially throw cold water on any Harvey Dent theories. Not only did the character play a memorable role in The Dark Knight, Billy Dee Williams played Harvey in Tim Burton’s Batman, and Tommy Lee Jones portrayed Two-Face in Batman Forever. Dent has a rather extensive live-action cinematic history, but there are ways to incorporate Dent into The Batman Part II without retreading old ground. Some rumors about Johansson suggest she could be playing Gilda Gold, Harvey’s wife who hasn’t appeared in a live-action film before. That would be a way to showcase a different side of Harvey’s character moviegoers may not be familiar with.
There are so many interesting characters in the Batman mythology (including standout villains who haven’t made the jump to live-action before) that some fans might be disappointed to see Harvey show up in another film. That said, Harvey feels like a natural inclusion in a franchise dubbed the Batman Epic Crime Saga. As district attorney, he made it his mission to put Gotham’s criminals behind bars, so he’d surely take a keen interest in organized crime activities plaguing the city. In some respects, it would arguably be stranger if Dent didn’t have a role in this series at all. For anyone concerned about The Batman Part II copying The Dark Knight, Dent doesn’t have to turn into Two-Face in this film. Reeves is planning a third installment to wrap up a trilogy, so Stan’s role could partially set the stage for the threequel.
Fans should still take all the rumors with a grain of salt because until Stan’s role is officially revealed, speculation will continue to swirl. But right now, all signs seem to be pointing to Dent. If this pans out, it’ll be interesting to see Reeves’ take on the character and how he manages to make it distinct from the other versions. The director has dong a phenomenal job realizing his vision of Gotham City so far, breathing fresh life into plenty of other characters who have appeared in movies before (Catwoman, Penguin, Riddler). There’s no reason why he won’t be able to do the same for Dent.
What do you think? Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum!
